He said: 'For a long time, I have said that Gerrard is one of the top three midfielders in the game.

'Along with Michael Essien of Chelsea and Andres Iniesta of Barcelona, he has been the most difficult opponent I have faced over the years. Now I am his team-mate. I think we can combine well together.'

Gerrard was in fine form and scored twice as Liverpool lost 3-2 to bitter rivals Manchester United at the weekend.

Meireles added in LFC Weekly: 'I can sympathise with people like Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher because, like me, they are players who have played for the major club in their city.

'That brings pressures that are difficult to deal with because when things go wrong, the local players sometimes feel the frustrations of the supporters a lot more.'